For many years, vehicle horns have been actuated by virtue of an actuator mounted on a vehicle steering wheel. In some cases, these actuators have comprised a metallic ring concentric with the wheel portion of a steering wheel, which ring when engaged at any point along its periphery causes horn actuation. Additionally, some horn actuators have comprised a central enlarged circular portion aligned with the steering wheel support column and engageable by the user at any location thereon to cause switch closure and horn actuation.
With the advent of the "air bag" passenger restraint system, on vehicles with such "air bags", it is not possible to maintain a horn actuator in alignment with the steering wheel support column since the "air bag" housing is located there. For whatever reasons, automobile manufacturers have generally ceased to manufacture metallic rings concentric with the wheel portion of steering wheels thereby further limiting options.
As "air bag" passenger restraint systems have evolved, vehicle horn actuators have also evolved to become smaller and smaller as time goes by. On many vehicles, the horn actuator consists of one or more small buttons located between the center of the steering wheel and the peripheral wheel thereof on radially extending spokes connecting the central portion containing the "air bag" with the peripheral wheel. Such buttons are quite disadvantageous for several reasons. Firstly, as compared to concentric rings and centrally located actuator pads, which may be slapped to actuate the horn, the new horn actuator buttons are not effective to actuate the horn when slapped. They must be deliberately pushed to actuate the vehicle horn. Secondly, because of their small size, they are not easy to locate on the steering wheel assembly. Thus, the driver must take his or her eyes off the road to facilitate finding the horn button whereupon the horn button may be pushed to actuate the vehicle horn. Since the horn is only actuated under emergency conditions, it is extremely dangerous to manufacture a vehicle with a horn button which is so small that the driver must take his or her eyes off the road to find it.
It is with these concerns in mind that the present invention was developed.